RB LEIPZIG
CAN NAGELSMANN OUTSMART
SPURS’ MOURINHO?
Twice a winner in this competition, with
Porto and Internazionale, Tottenham
Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho will have to
be wide awake in his battle of wits with
fresh-faced RB Leipzig counterpart Julian
Nagelsmann, who at 32, is the youngest
head coach in the Bundesliga.
Currently in his first season at the
controls of the Roten Bullen, Nagelsmann
is universally regarded as one of the best
young coaches on the European circuit.
His side went into the winter break in
pole position in the Bundesliga and were
top of their Champions League group this
autumn, losing just once.
Nagelsmann, who cut his
Champions League coaching
teeth with Hoffenheim in 2017-
18, is what’s best described as
a “footballing chess master”. His
game plans are flexible, innovative
and brave, he has a flair for
neutralising opposition strengths,
and more often than not he makes
the right tactical adjustments. He
does not allow bad situations to fester.
His teams are never pedestrian or
bland and there is always something
interesting cooking in the pot, be it a
wrinkle to confuse, a ruse to destabilise
or a tweak to cut through. He fizzes with
bright ideas, mostly related to cunning
movement and surprise deployment of
players. Any coach facing him has to be
constantly alert to the proliferation of
weapons in his attacking playbook: the
decoy runs, clever overloads, positional
switches, adventurous full-back play and
imaginative set-pieces.
He is also a realist, noticeably opting
not to conduct a root-and-branch
revolution on taking over at RB. Morethan satisfied with the team’s well-
established identity – their emphasis
on high pressing and swift transitions- his only real change of tack was
the widening of their attacking options.
He preaches more care in possession,
better combination play and far less
panic when confronted with heavily
entrenched opposition defences.
Star striker Timo Werner has certainly
benefitted from Nagelsmann’s words
of wisdom. Rather than use Werner
at the point of attack, Nagelsmann has
encouraged the German international
to play much deeper, thus giving him
the space to exploit his searing pace.
And the change has worked wonders
for Werner. Not only has he been scoring
left, right and centre, he has been
making plenty of chances too.
Brutal honesty is another of
Nagelsmann’s traits. Individually and
collectively he sets the bar high and does
not hesitate to tell home truths. Unhappy
with his side’s first-half performance
in a Bundesliga game this season, his
response was scathing, arguing: “If we
play like we did in those opening 45
minutes against Bayern and Dortmund
there will be absolutely no need to talk
about winning a championship. We went
into our shell and showed no courage.”
He walks the walk and talks the
talk. One day he will be managing in the
Premier League. The Tottenham clash
gives him the chance to display his wares.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Knockout stage
Deeper...Timo Werner’s role has changed at Leipzig this season and he is reaping the benefitsHonest...Nagelsmann
pulls no punchesLeipzig went into the
winter break in pole
position in the Bundesliga
and were top of their
Champions League
group this autumn